News in brief: CPS, union reach ‘tentative’ reopening agreement; Austin to challenge ethics ruling; Arwady to face grilling from aldermen 

News in brief: Madigan resigns as party chair; Bailey announces run for governor 

Pritzker signs criminal justice and police reform bill hailed by Democrats, criticized by Republicans 

Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law a comprehensive criminal justice and police reform bill on Monday that was hailed by Democrats as a step toward making the state more equitable and blasted by Republicans and law enforcement agencies as dangerous.  

Surrounded by members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus at Chicago State University, Pritzker broadcasted his signing of HB 3653, saying it would improve the state while implementing ideas he’s long supported.  

Smoke detector rules, ‘Salt District’ proposal set for zoning approval as industrial crackdown ordinance remains in limbo 

Aldermen are scheduled on Tuesday to revive up a long-stalled ordinance (O2019-8529) that would require all Chicago homes to have modern smoke detectors installed within the next decade. 

Introduced in 2019 by Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36), the ordinance requires all residential property owners whose smoke detectors expire after 2022 to replace them with “a self-contained, non-removable, long term battery” alarm.  

Commissioners approve Pappas-backed ordinance to expose TIF ‘shadow governments’ 

Cook County leaders voted overwhelmingly on Monday to advance a proposal by county Treasurer Maria Pappas to require taxing bodies across the county to submit detailed reports on how they use tax-increment financing. 

Commissioners voted 15-2 to approve the ordinance (21-1048) during a meeting of the county board’s Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Monday, lining it up for a final vote by the full board on Thursday. 

Aldermen approve settlements alleging police misconduct after lengthy discussion, narrow vote 

Aldermen on Monday approved payments for two separate lawsuits alleging misconduct by the Chicago Police Department: one after lengthy discussion on who should be held responsible for a raid on a wrong apartment, and the other in narrow vote.  

In addition to the settlement payments, the City Council Committee on Finance delayed a vote during its meeting Monday on designating municipal depositories for Fiscal Year 2021, paved the way for a $1 billion deal to supply water to the city of Joliet and approved tax-increment financing for improvements at three Chicago Park District locations. 

Quinn, Madigan staffer tapped to fill vacancy left by former House speaker 

Southwest Side Democratic Party officials on Sunday appointed Edward Guerra Kodatt, a 26-year-old staff assistant to Chicago Ald. Marty Quinn (13) and an employee of former House Speaker Mike Madigan’s political committee, to fill the  legislative seat left vacant by Madigan’s retirement.  

Kodatt was picked by a five-member committee, which included Madigan, from a field of 10 candidates that included eight Latinos and former Sen. Bob Raica, a Republican who served in the legislature between 1987 and 1997. Although Madigan was just one member of the selection committee, he wielded more than 50 percent of the weighted vote in the process, giving him unilateral power to name his successor. 

News in brief: CPAC, GAPA close to ‘compromise’; vaccine equity gap narrowing; county TIF transparency ordinance set for consideration 

Joliet water agreement, $575M in police settlements lined up for committee approval 

A $1 billion deal to sell water to the city of Joliet could take a leap forward on Monday if aldermen approve a preliminary agreement paving the way for both cities to seal a 100-year deal later this year. 

The ordinance (O2021-420) up for consideration by the City Council Committee on Finance during its 10 a.m. meeting would set ground rules for negotiation over the agreement that could supply Joliet with 30 million gallons of drinkable water per day starting in 2030. In return, Illinois’ fourth-largest city would pay Chicago anywhere between $24 million and $37 million per year, according to Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett. 

Budget director defends spending federal dollars on CPD as aldermen approve new COVID-related grants 

Aldermen on Friday approved carrying over $68 million in federal COVID-19 grant funds from 2020 and allocating additional coronavirus-related federal grant money to be used this year for rental assistance and vaccination programs. 

But prior to the unanimous approval of the ordinance that would allocate $309 million that not previously been designated, the city’s Budget Director Susie Park spent much of the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations meeting explaining to aldermen why and how a significant portion of the city’s $1.2 billion in federal CARES Act funding was spent on Chicago Police Department personnel costs. 

Hospitality industry calls for clarity, raised capacity limits as part of pandemic recovery effort 

Representatives from Illinois’ hospitality industry urged Gov. JB Pritzker's administration and state lawmakers on Thursday to provide more clarity, expand vaccine eligibility and loosen COVID-19 restrictions so their members can begin the long process of recovering from the global pandemic.  

Cara Bader, chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, told members of the Senate Tourism and Hospitality Committee Thursday the pandemic has had an “unprecedented” impact on the state’s convention centers, hotels, cultural institutions and restaurants, upending a “thriving tourism industry.”  

Madigan resigns, capping 50 years in public office 

Former House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) announced his resignation Thursday, marking the end of 50 years in public office. 

In a lengthy statement, Madigan said he would resign at the end of February, a little more than a month after the House elected Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) to be his successor as the chamber’s leader.  

Board of Review ‘defense’ unit helped save taxing bodies $138M in 2019: Report 

The Cook County Board of Review is known for encouraging county property owners to dispute their tax assessments in the hopes that they’ll get a break on their annual bills. But a small, relatively new sector of the office has done the opposite, fighting to stymie tax appeals, and the board says they’ve saved local governments millions as a result. 

The board’s Property Tax Appeal Board Defense Unit, launched in 2017, dedicates about 15 lawyers and clerks to disputing appeals from property owners who believe the board — and the Cook County Assessor’s Office before them — set their assessments too high.  

Vote on police civilian oversight stalled as Lightfoot plans to submit her own competing proposal 

After a nearly year-long legislative stalemate, aldermen were at long last scheduled to vote Friday on proposals to create civilian oversight of the Chicago Police Department. But the meeting of the  Committee on Public Safety was canceled on Thursday to allow Mayor Lori Lightfoot time to submit her own version of a civilian oversight ordinance.  

Lightfoot in September said she would submit her own proposal for civilian oversight after saying she was “moving on” from a proposal by the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability after she and the group could not resolve a disagreement over whether the mayor or a proposed Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability would get the final say when an agreement between the two parties could not be reached.  

CPD response to unrest ‘failed both the public and its own front-line members’: watchdog 

A scathing report from Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found the Chicago Police Department was “under-prepared and ill-equipped” to handle the protests and unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd last summer, and that “senior leadership failed both the public and its own front-line members.” 

While responding to unrest during the pandemic was “daunting,” the police department and city’s responses “were marked, almost without exception, by confusion and lack of coordination in the field” stemming from failed “intelligence assessment[s],” “major event planning, field communication and operation, administrative systems and, most significantly, leadership from CPD’s highest ranks,” according to a news release from Ferguson. 

News in brief: Pritzker to deliver virtual State of the State; governor issues disaster proclamation; winter storm causes delay in federal vaccine delivery 

Faced with spike in carjackings, senators urged against reactionary policy changes 

Despite a recent surge in carjackings in Chicago, Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday were warned against implementing new policies and laws in response that might result in unintended consequences.  

Carjackings surfaced in a wider discussion that took place during a nearly three-hour joint gathering of the Senate Public Safety Committee and Senate Criminal Law Committee, which focused on identifying additional measures lawmakers can take to improve public safety in Illinois. 

News in brief: Aldermen approve tax incentives; Indoor dining restrictions eased again 

‘Epidemiological specimen collection’ program, energy efficiency grant set for committee consideration 

Aldermen on Wednesday are set to consider a proposal from the city’s Department of Public Health that would modify the section of city code regarding “epidemiological specimen collection and analysis.” 

The ordinance is proposed for consideration during the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations’ 10 a.m. meeting Wednesday. The proposal will be directly introduced by the public health department, but the text of the ordinance was not available late Tuesday and no additional information was posted on the agenda. 

Affordability renewal ordinance stalls amid questions about city-backed homeownership program 

A City Council committee punted approval of an ordinance designed to stretch the staying power of a city-backed homeownership initiative on Tuesday as aldermen raised questions about the underlying program. 

The ordinance (O2021-446), introduced last month by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on behalf of the Chicago Department of Housing, would restart the clock on city-imposed 30-year affordable housing covenants every time each home changes hands. It only applies to for-sale homes administered through the Chicago Community Land Trust, a city-backed nonprofit designed to forge a path to homeownership for low- and middle-income residents.